Roll-your-own cigarette bill headed to governor

NASHVILLE — A proposal that would require roll-your-own cigarette retailers to pay a licensing fee and tax and adhere to certain restrictions is headed to the governor for his consideration.

The measure was sent to Gov. Bill Haslam on Tuesday after the Senate voted 24-2 to agree with changes made by the House.

Pipe tobacco, a popular product of roll-your-own retailers, is not listed on the state attorney general's directory of tobaccos. The proposal would require tobacco the retailers use in their machines to come from the directory.

It would also require the retailers to pay a cigarette tax and an annual $500 licensing fee for each roll-your-own machine used.

One issue that needed to be worked out was how long businesses would have to meet the requirements. Lawmakers agreed on Oct. 1, 2013.